CAS 



618 



CAS 



Casts. 



of the hill. Mankind are too sanguinary to shun such 

 examples ; and there are repeated instances, as at Bed- 

 ford, Rochester, and many other places, where the 

 vanquished garrison were promiscuously hanged by 

 their ferocious conquerors. 



Where petty states are confined within narrow li- 

 mits, an uncommon number of warlike edifices will 

 always be found, both to guard against internal divi- 

 sions, from which unsettled governments are never 

 free, and to serve as a security against mutual inva- 

 sions. But from the prevalence of the feudal system 

 in these kingdoms, they were alike the protection of 

 the tyrannical overlord, and the unprincipled marau- 

 der, who subsisted by the booty acquired from his 

 defenceless neighbours. A savage herd of retainers 

 was sometimes kept, to enable the lawless owner to 

 resist his native sovereign, or to aid him in wanton 

 oppression of his own vassals, or those of others. In- 

 vested with absolute powers and privileges, he could 

 with impunity condemn an offender, real or imaginary, 

 to a dungeon, or even inflict a capital sentence upon 

 him ; and it was judged an act of clemency, if his re- 

 sentment extended only to suspension of the culprit a 

 few hours by the heels, instead of by the neck on a 

 gibbet. If remote from the seat of administra- 

 tion, as in Ireland, where the people are still in an 

 uncivilized state, or in the northern parts of Scot- 

 land, it was scarcely within the power of government 

 to root out the turbulent chieftains. No sooner 

 were hostile measures manifested against him, than 

 his whole clan, by one common voice, arose, and form- 

 ed of themselves an army for his defence : he retreat- 

 ed to the fastnesses of the hills, or fortified himself 

 in his castle in some wild and inaccessible quarter, 

 where he bid defiance to his assailants. 



From the total change in warlike operations, the 

 abolition of the feudal system, and the greater civili- 

 zation of this island, the castles in the hands of pri- 

 vate individuals have gradually been allowed to de- 

 cay. A long protracted interval of internal peace 

 renders them unnecessary to the crown, and the 

 watchful eye of the police guards the safety of the 

 subject, without his seeking places of refuge. Those 

 that still remain, are rather calculated for ostenta- 

 tion than defence : We should therefore view the 

 bulwarks that surrounded our ancestors with double 

 interest, and felicitate ourselves on existing in times, 

 when they are no longer required for our personal 

 security. 



See Asser de rebus Gestis Alfredi. Matthew Pa- 

 ris, Historia Anglix. Gesta Regis Stephani, apud 

 Duchene, p. 934-. Radulfus de Diceto, apud Tmys- 

 den and Gale Scriptores Angliae. Arch&ologia, v. 4-, 

 6, 9, 10. Borlase's Account of Cornwall. Wright's 

 Louthiana. Cordiner's Antiquities and Scenery of 

 Scotland. Cordiner's Remarkable Ruins. Pennant's 

 Tour in Wales ; in Scotland ; Journey from Chester to 

 London. Grose's Antiquities of England; Scotland; 

 Ireland. Ledwich's Antiquities of Ireland. King 1 * 

 Munimenta Antiqua. (c) 



CAS TLETOWN. See DERBYSHIRE. 



CASTLETOWN. See MAN, ISLE OF. 



CASTRAMETATION. See FORTIFICATION. 



CASTRATION. See SURGERY. 



CASTRIES, BAY OF. See TARTARY, and La 

 Perouse's Voyage^ vol. ii. 



CASTS. These are impressions, figures, or sta- 



tues, formed of plaster of Paris, sulphur, metals, or Cast.?, 

 other substances. s """~' <"* 



Sculptures of every description are so tedious and 

 expensive, that a more speedy and economical me- 

 thod is adopted, of obtaining resemblances in plaster 

 of Paris. This is attended with the convenience of 

 the materials being easily procured in a state of pre- 

 paration for immediate use as an impalpable powder ; 

 and nothing more is required than an addition of 

 water to reduce it to the consistence of thin paste or 

 cream. 



A mould is always necessary for a cast, in what- 

 ever substance it is made, and it is formed according 

 to the nature or figure of the subject. In taking a 

 cast from a medal, for example, it is to be laid on a 

 smooth surface, and encircled by a hoop of card or 

 paper, of the breadth desired for the thickness of 

 the mould. The plaster, reduced to the consistence 

 of thick cream, is then to be poured over the medal, 

 and allowed to dry. Thus a mould is formed, which 

 is hollow, to receive the cast. Its surface must be 

 brushed over with a camel-hair pencil, dipped in olive 

 oil ; observing if there are any holes, previously to 

 fill them up by a similar expedient, with thin plas- 

 ter, which will also prevent holes in the cast. The 

 mould is next to be surrounded with a card or paper 

 hoop, as broad as the thickness of the cast, and the 

 plaster, reduced almost to a fluid, poured in. By 

 allowing it to dry, the cast is formed, and many 

 successive casts may be obtained from the same 

 mould. 



If the subject be larger than a medal, we must 

 use a wooden frame, within which the subject is 

 laid, as a certain degree of strength is necessary to 

 resist the pressure of the fluid plaster. It is essen- 

 tial to observe, that immediately after being reduced 

 to the proper consistence, the plaster must be pour- 

 ed on the subject, as by standing it becomes unfit for 

 use. 



This, however, is a method adapted only to the 

 most simple impressions, and where none but one 

 side or surface is to be taken off. If there are seve- 

 ral surfaces, the mould must be divided into such a 

 number of parts as circumstances may require. Sup- 

 posing a cast of a round or angular subject is desir- 

 ed, the plaster must not be reduced nearly to fluidity 

 as before, but to the consistence of paste. This is 

 to be applied by the hand as a coating on the sub- 

 ject, and slightly pressed, so as to be adapted to all 

 its different parts, and then cut through in several 

 places with a very thin-edged knife. After being of 

 such consistency as to retain the impression, the 

 pieces are allowed to become completely dry, ha- 

 ving, previous to the division, received various pencil 

 marks, that they may be more easily united for the 

 cast. Considerable dexterity is necessary in dividing 

 the pieces of the mould asunder, and in properly a- 

 dapting them for the east they are to receive. After 

 being completely dried, they are to be well greas- 

 ed and united, and the plaster, as before, reduced al- 

 most to a fluid state, poured in so as to fill the whole 

 cavity. The mould is then taken off, and the cast 

 appears. 



Large casts are generally hollow, both to be light- 

 er and to save the materials. In that case, a wood- 

 en core is suspended within the mould, with the 

 thicker end outwards, so as to be more easily with- 



